Blurred Horizons
by Demoic Gunslinger
Summary: After a battle against a fire breathing demon, Ingus finds himself having a strange dream that gives him some clues to where he had been born. Once his Duty as a Warrior of the Light is finished... he plans to start searching for the answers...
1. Chapter 1

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy 3 or any other of the Final Fantasy. **_

_**Taking some liberties with the Final Fantasy Worlds and mixing them together somewhat. **_

_**Since reading the manual before starting the game, I decided that Ingus' crystal pendant had to have some important meaning in the game – whether it was something that triggered a certain job class or something else entirely. I was rather disappointed that once completing the game – and all the Mognet mail triggered sidequests that it meant nothing... **_

_**Sulking over that fact one night, the plot bunnies came and walloped me on the head... and this fic was born... along with something that came with a 'OMG I just realized moment' between a character in game and a NPC – both in FF3**_

_**Multiple and cross Final Fantasy pairings and don't take anything that is hinted at face value...**_

_**...and yes, I do question my sanity...**_

_**And FYI – this is the only disclaimer I'm giving – unless something out of the realms of Final Fantasy is mentioned, in which case I'll disclaim if it is not original and if you ask me questions in your reviews, I will respond to them in the next chapter.**_

_**And whilst this is a major update of seven chapters, it is only happening because I split up a started story into seven different places and edited it to fit this story arc instead of the one I was going with...**_

_**I used to operate under the Username Jenza1202 – but I forgot the password and the email address for no longer exists.**_

…_**the Forgotten Continent…**_

Darkness was beginning to descend, his vision was turning blurry as pain shot through his head again. Every single breath he took was absolute white hot agony. His helmet had done little to lessen the force of the blow he he had received to the head... although it probably had saved him from instant death... His armour had done little to protect him from the swift and brutal kick he had taken to the chest – the blow that had sent him across the room and into the rock strewn corner.

…_**Maiden Sari…**_

He was half cursing himself for making use of the 'Soul Eater' ability the Dark Knight Job class had made available to him. The dark spell allowed him to transform his energy into pure dark energy, which always caused heavy damage to the enemy, but slowly sapped his strength and energy... the more he used it, the weaker he became. In the battle that was currently ranging, against the fiery demon, he had been using the ability as much as he possibly could. Everyone knew that they were out of their depth. The demon was much stronger than anything else they had ever faced in battle.

With Arc casting spells, Luneth attacking with a barrage of Arctic Winds and Bomb arms. Refia had her hands full with keeping everyone healed. He had instructed Refia, to concentrate on keeping herself, Arc and Luneth healed – stating that he would use X-Potions and Hi-Potions to regulate his own health levels. It was only fair... he was the one sapping his own strength...

…_**Village of the Summoners…**_

He had paid dearly for his decision. As he had been reaching for an X-Potion, the firey demon had turned its orangey yellow gaze upon him – a strange expression of intent and remorse in its eyes. It had then unleashed three devastating attacks on him.

The first had been a Firaga attack, which caused the very air around him scorch and burn, making him collapse to his knees, lungs burning and eyes watering as he struggled to draw breath. The blow to the head had quickly followed, leaving him dazed and seeing double, with Refia's screams and Arc and Luneth's shouts echoing in his ears... shouting at him to move. Then came the kick to the chest, a talon clad foot smashing into his ribs, knocking him across the room, his armour still smoking slightly from the Firaga attack.

…_**Home…**_

He could feel himself slowly drifting, and he knew that he was slowly loosing the battle to remain conscious. His allies, his friends, were still battling on, and he could hear shouts and roars of echoing all around him, and through his blurred vision, he could see flashes of magic, from the spells that Arc and Refia were casting, as well as the flashes of bright steel from Luneth's twin axes.

…_**Alex… **_

Carefully he moved his head, cursing silently as his world spun. Gingerly, he pressed the open part of his helmet against the cold marble floor, grateful that, at least some part of his battered, burning body, could leant against something cold, and the pain relieved slightly.

_**...My little Alex…**_

He let out a moan of pain, and forced himself to keep his eyes open. He knew that the group couldn't spare any Phoenix Downs, nor any avoidable revive or raise spells. If he could, he would stay awake, and therefore improve his chances of not slipping into the 'void' between life and death. He was hoping that he could stay conscious long enough, for the others to finish the fight, so that Refia could cast a curative spell, or for Luneth and Arc to hand him a few Hi-Potions.

…_**My little Angel…**_

He coughed weakly, his ribs protesting the action. Blood splattered onto the dirty and cracked marble floor, showing him that he had at least one broken rib that had punctured a lung. Weakly, he tried to raise his head, the human part of him wanting to call out for help, the soldier and army trained half of him wanting to try, once more, to stand and find his blades, so he could return to battle.

…_**My poor little Angel…**_

His strength failed him, as the smallest of movements sent abject agony flaring through his battered and exhausted body. For the first time, he felt fear run through him, fear that he was going to die. That he was going to die in some godforsaken, abandoned mansion. That he was going to breath his last, lying on some dirty, cracked marble floor, thousands of miles away from the place he called home, thousands of miles away from everyone he knew… everyone he loved…

…_**I'm sorry….**_

He let out an almost inaudible sob, giving into the pain, the pain radiating through his body slowly growing, the burning pain not leaving him, nor the pain in his head or his ribs. In all his years, he had never known pain like what he was feeling now. From the horrific migraines he used to have as a child – the headaches which left him physically sick, lying in a darkened room unable to bare the slightest sliver of light, sounds or touch, to the time he badly poisoned – when the scouting group he had been with had no antidotes. He'd been delirious with pain by the time they had got back to the castle, believing he was speaking to the dead spirits of Sir Gallion and Sir Hart – two legendary Knights who had died 301 years ago.

…_**I'm so sorry…**_

Again he forced him to open his eyes, trying to concentrate on the fight, inwardly trying to mentally map out how the rest of the fight would run – who would win, whether or not any of the others would be on the receiving end of three horrific attacks. One thing stood clear though – and it was confusing. The fiery demon, was no longer attacking with its full strength – it was now defending more – only putting up the occasional attack. Since he had been eliminated from the fight, it had become almost passive, and had been sending concerned and sorrowful looks his way – as if it was sorry for hurting him…

…_**Don't be scared…**_

He turned his thoughts away from the fight deciding that, if he was going to die here, then he wanted his last earthly thoughts to be of something pleasant, not of the fight. He thought of the kitchen staff that he had, many a time, helped whenever there was a large feast coming up. Practically everyone in the Kingdom knew that if he wasn't on guard duty, in a training session or sleeping – then he'd be in the kitchen, doing what he could to help out whether it was by moving heavy pots and pans for the more elderly members of the kitchens, or by simply sitting in a corner, peeling a pile of vegetables. He thought of the times he had spent in the barracks, laughing and joking with the other soldiers and guards – the friendly rivalry that had been shared there – and the times they spent on the training fields, running through the well known motions with a training sword. His next thoughts of the times he had spent out on duty, in the late afternoon, on the walls near Princess Sara's apartments, listening to her practise her singing.

…_**all will be well…**_

As the thought of Princess Sara singing crossed his mind, he slowly realized that he could hear magic drifting around him. It was a gentle song that felt strangely familiar, although he couldn't recall where he had heard it before. The voice was female, the tone and pitch hauntingly familiar, as if he had heard it before…long, long ago, with all memory of it shrouded by the misty past.

…_**And if I should leave this lonely world behind, your voice will still remember our melody...**_

He closed his eyes, the music and the song making him feel at peace, and sleepy. The pain he was in was slowly lessening, the burning pain slowly giving way to a warm and gentle aura, leading him to think to himself, that if this was dying, it wasn't all that bad.

'No!' he told himself. 'No! Open your eyes you damn coward!'

He forced his eyes open again, his vision blurry – the double vision hard to separate from one another. The hazy duplicate forms of Refia and Arc were running over to him, concern and horror on their faces. The song was continuing, the siren's call of unconsciousness was still beckoning to him, the call far to mesmerizing to resist. He allowed his eyes to close, letting himself drift off into the void – completely oblivious to the sound of Refia screaming out his name.

As he drifted into unconsciousness, he realized he had recognized the fiery demon they had been fighting.

…_**Come circle round and grow deep in our hearts. As long as we remember…**_

As he drifted into unconsciousness, he realized that he had recognized the fiery demon that they had been fighting... and what was more – the knowledge of what the demon had done to him made him feel exceedingly betrayed...

...and he couldn't quite grasp why...

"…_Infrit…" _he whispered, before allowing himself to fall into oblivion.


	2. Chapter 2

Arc!" Refia cried from where she was knelt next to Ingus. "Throw me an Elixir, he's badly hurt! He's hardly breathing!" she hastily pushed her hood down, revealing very dishevelled reddish orange hair, and very distressed features.

The Black Mage did as he was asked, reaching into his bag, pushing aside his two books and grabbing hold of a square shaped bottle. He tossed it to his friend, before running over as Refia caught the bottle, uncapped it and quickly downed it, drinking to so fast Arc found himself worrying that she would choke.

"Why did that... demon... continue to attack Ingus?" Arc asked, looking concerned as he knelt down next to the unconscious blonde, watching intently to see any signs of the white magic taking effect. "Surely it was clear that Ingus wouldn't be getting back up after that Firaga attack... let alone the blow he took to the head." He paused, his eyes widening as he pointed at something, his hand trembling slightly. "Look! The force of it cracked his helmet! By Gods... it could have easily killed him!"

"Then we should be glad he took the hit and not us then." Luneth commented as he stepped over to the two Mages and unconscious Dark Knight. He had been occupying himself by searching the area for winnings. "My Viking hat wouldn't have done a lot to protect me from it, and it would have outright killed the pair of you." He paused and smiled weakly, lilac eyes dancing with a mixture of amusement and worry. "Ingus has a hard head – we all know how stubborn he can be when he wants to be. He'll be fine – he'll wake up with a headache – and he'll be good ol' grumpy ol' Ingus." He paused. "The demon only dropped this..." and with those words, he held out a beautiful orangey yellow topaz. "Any ideas?"

Arc gave the topaz a quick glance before turning his attention back to Refia and the unconscious Ingus.

"Put it in Ingus' rucksack." Arc replied. "He's the best at identifying things that monsters drop. Besides, Refia will keep him on his roll mat tonight to rest, so he'll probably want something to occupy himself."

Refia had studiously ignored the pair, casting another Cura spell, watching intently for any sign that the spells were doing some good. Long used to Luneth's sometimes ill timed commented, she was much more concerned for the blonde haired soldier.

"We shouldn't travel any further tonight." She stated. "We need to remain here and give Ingus a chance to recover as much as he can." She paused. "Arc, please start a fire and then go with Luneth to see if there is anything in this house we can make use of. Weapons, spell scrolls, healing items, attack items... you know, the usual stuff."

"Basically anything we can sell." Luneth replied with a nod. "No probs Reffie... you take care of Ingus." He paused. "Need any help taking his helmet off? There is no point him wearing it now."

Refia nodded, and Luneth moved to kneel down next to her. Between them they located and undid the clasps that held the helmet to the body armour, and gently manoeuvred it away, trying not to jolt any of the remaining injuries or worse – a newly healed injury to the spine. With the removal of the helmet, the armour simply vanished into a bluish white light alone with the helmet.

Ingus was left wearing the simple dark crimson and black martial arts garb he tended to wear underneath armour. Refia then carefully removed the aquamarine pendent that Ingus always wore, before wrapping it around the blonde's left wrist – securing it in place so it wasn't lost.

She had always admired the pendent and the way it seemed to shine with a dim glow of its own, sparking brightly in the sunlight and glowing gently in the moonlight. She had never known Ingus take it off, not even once in their journey. From this, she had deuced that it was very special to the blonde, and she had found herself wondering where he had got it, and who had given it to him and why.

His hair, the silver-white blonde hair that only Ingus seemed to have was free from any signs of blood – showing that whilst the blow to the head had certainly been harsh, it had not caused any open wounds. Refia let out a relieved sigh. Her White Magic would have healed up any internal bleeding or fractures to the skull, so although Ingus would wake up with one heck of a headache, there would hopefully be no brain damage beyond the chance of him not remembering the fight.

Whilst white magic could heal wounds, such as cuts, burns, internal bleeds and broken bones, it couldn't do anything to heal bruising. Any bruises that Ingus had, would have to heal naturally, although Echo Screen had properties that could assist in the healing. Refia sat back on her heels, content to wait for Luneth and Arc to return from their scavenging. The fire was blazing cheerfully, the smoke drifting up through the hole in the ceiling.

"We didn't find much..." Arc's voice called, causing her to look around. "A lot of the wings have caved in, and we can't see how deep the damage goes..." he dropped a basket onto the floor. "But we did find four Phoenix Downs, three X-Potions, 20,000gil, one Remedy and another strange crystal... it's a sapphire."

"And these swords." Luneth continued, carefully placing two sheathed blades down. "Well they're actually Katanas." He paused. "I'm not sure how powerful they are, but once Ingus is back on his feet, he can give them a go."

Refia nodded, as Arc split the healing items amongst the four rucksacks, placing the sapphire into the front pocket of Ingus' rucksack – alongside the orangey red topaz and the journal Ingus was using to record information on different items they'd found. Luneth then placed the katanas down next to Ingus' rucksack before taking his seat around the fire.

"How is he?" Arc asked as he took his own seat, pulling a small cauldron and tripod out of his bag, setting it up over the fire.

Refia didn't respond for a few moments carefully brushing a lock of silvery blonde hair out of Ingus' face, frowning slightly as she saw the beginnings of what would probably a large and painful bruise.

She'd been itching to run her fingers through that mane of hair since she had met him. His hair had always looked so silky, soft and fine – even after the toughest, most violent of battles. It was always pristine, despite Ingus never giving it more than a quick brush in the morning with his fingers and giving it a wash every time they were staying in an inn. He certainly did nothing to protect his shining halo of hair, and probably wouldn't give it more than a second glance if he had been shaved completely bald.

"He'll live." Refia replied evenly. "But he is deeply unconscious and isn't responding to noise..." she shrugged. "I don't know whether it's because he's taken a heavy blow to the head, or whether it is a result of dark magic..." she shook her head. "We'll have to take turns in monitoring him throughout the night... and if he's still unconscious we're going to take him to Doga's mansion..." She carefully brushed some stands of silvery blonde hair out of the unconscious Dark Knight's face.

She had, at first, been jealous of Ingus. Not only was his hair the colour she had always wished her hair was, it had the amazing ability to look soft and fluffy all; at the same time (something that all females wished from their hair). However, Ingus hair always managed to look masculine, all at the same time. It gave him a 'I just got off a Chocobo' look – and was a good explanation to why he attracted the attention of nearly every female that saw him – regardless of the fact they were married or not.

To his credit, Ingus had always treated them in exactly the same manner. He was polite towards them, but at the same time he made it perfectly clear that he was remotely interested in them, nor what they were willing to do with him behind the weapons shop, or whatever else they offered him. All the woman got, was Ingus politely declining their offer, before rolling his eyes at their retreating back, before heading back to the Inn.

Arc and Luneth nodded in agreement, knowing what Refia had suggested was wise. Neither had contemplated the possibility of dark magic being involved.


	3. Chapter 3

"…_**My little Alex…"**_

Ingus found himself narrowing his eyes as he looked around trying to find the speaker. He was stood on a beach that was bathed in sunset. The blue ocean was lapping gently across the sand, with the ocean breeze cool and refreshing, carrying with it the comforting smell and taste of sea salt. He studied the horizon, and narrowed his eyes in confusion. He could see no landmasses in the distance...

"_**...My perfect little boy..."**_

And his geographical knowledge allowed him to know that no matter where he was stood in the world... no matter what beach... he should be able to see the shadowy outline of land in the distance... whether it was another coast, or the ghostly outline of the Ancient Floating Continent.

He looked around again, and then noticed that he was wearing simple white robes, almost identical to the White Mage Robes, except they were pure white in colour, a silver strip of cloth tied around his waist. His feet were bare, and his aquamarine pendent was hanging around his neck, the crystal resting against his chest. By reflex, he reached for his duel katanas that usually hung against his back – and found that they weren't there.

So he wasn't anywhere he recognized... and unarmed... and he couldn't see Arc, Refia or Luneth.

...which was worrying in itself...

"Refia!" he called. "Arc! Luneth!"

He got no response, and another look around told him he was alone on this small beach... situated in a cove. Vines and seaweed hung down from the cove entrance telling him that nobody had passed through...

...and if that were the case... how did he end up here?

He racked his brains, trying to recall his last memory before finding himself stood on the beach...

He had been laughing at a joke Arc had made as he and the others had entered the ruins of an abandoned manor house... that many residents had claimed to be haunted by a fiery demon...

...he could recall the flames of the Firaga attack burning around him... and then a brief memory of a large claw bearing down on him... and then he'd found himself standing on this unrecognisable beach.

"Oh great..." he muttered to himself. "I'm dead... Infrit bloody killed me..."

A lyrical laugh filled the air, before he could question himself how he knew the name of the fiery demon. It was gentle, with no malice behind it.

"You're not dead Alexander, Infrit did not kill you." A voice commented. "And your companions are safe and well..." the voice paused. "And you will be well as well Alexander..."

Ingus looked around, trying to locate the woman who had spoken to him.

"Who are you?" he asked, looking around. "Where are you?"

The setting sun seemed to shimmer for a few moments, and then a ghostly figure appeared a few feet away from him, taking the form of a middle aged woman.

She was a little shorter then he was, and had long, silvery white-blonde hair which trailed down to the small of her back, tied away from her face by a dark purple ribbon. Her eyes were stunningly beautiful and bright – almost unearthly in colour. Strangely, poking up through her blonde locks of hair, was a horn – about six inches in length.

She studied him, a wide smile on her face.

"...I cannot believe how tall you are..." she whispered, her blue eyes filled with amazement, joy and pride. "...I cannot believe how handsome you are!" she paused, and then her expressive eyes turned sad. "...but they removed your horn..."

"Who are you?" Ingus asked her, narrowing his eyes. Whilst part of him told him he knew this strange woman, the soldier part of him knew he had to find out information first.

The woman let out a musical laugh, her eyes dancing with amusement, and a smile breaking out on her face.

"My name is Melody..." she replied. "Melody Lightya..."

"Where are we?" was Ingus' second question

The woman let out another musical laugh, her blue eyes dancing with more amusement and happiness. She turned around, and looked in the opposite direction, her eyes seeing something that his could not.

"And you like getting straight to the point... just like your father does... you are so much like him... I can see so much of him in you..."

Ingus blinked in amazement, shock dancing across his face. He couldn't believe what he had just heard.

She couldn't have been talking about his adopted father... the alcoholic, failed Knight... abusive – both physically and verbally who spent his days and nights in a drunken stupor – both himself and his clothing unwashed...

So that could only mean...

"My…my…" he began. "How...?"

The woman turned to him, smiling tenderly, reaching out to touch his face – before letting out a deep sigh as her hand passed straight through him.

"I cannot tell you..." she replied sorrowfully. "...I wish I could... I wish I could tell you everything Alexander... but I cannot... you must search for, and discover the answers to your questions yourself... You must find the answers yourself... I cannot give them to you..." she paused and smiled sadly. "Listen to me Alexander... you must seek out find Maiden Sari... she holds the answers to your questions... she keeps safe the secrets you wish to know..."

"...I don't understand..." Ingus replied. "...I'm not Alex..."

The rest of his sentence was lost as a bolt of lightning blasted down from the sky, causing Ingus to spin round and stare in that direction, Melody Lightya forgotten for a few seconds. He could see fire blazing in a canyon, and people screaming in terror.

He took a few steps forward, and then felt a wave of dizziness pass over him as the temperature dropped rapidly and rain started to lash down from the sky. He looked around, unable to spot the ghostly form of Melody Lightya...

Pain thundered through his head, and he dropped to his knees holding in, eyes squeezed shut as he tried to block it out.

The last conscious memory Ingus had, was of him kneeling on the beach, the rain lashing down all around him, the winds battering him as the sea crashed against the rocks and thundered up the beach, drenching him from knee down. He looked up at the dark clouds.

Staring right back at him was a giant blood red eye, its lids closed in a mixture of calculation, malice and pleasure.

...and a deep sense of foreboding wrapped itself around him...

He lost consciousness soon after, drifting away into nothingness


	4. Chapter 4

"But Unei... Doga... he has not woken up since that fight..." Refia protested. "The monster we were fighting... the demon... it carried on aiming most of the attacks at him... Ingus was using the 'Soul Eater' technique to do extra damage... to hurry the victory... because we were struggling..." She paused. "He told me to concentrate on keeping Arc and Luneth healed... and that he would deal with his own injuries..." she paused. "We were doing alright... I really thought we were going to win... but the monster... it aimed three attacks in a row – all at Ingus..."

"It was really horrible..." Arc continued. "First, it used a Firaga attack on him, then it hit him on the head... and the force of it cracked his helmet... I thought he was dead..." he paused, looking slightly ill. "The demon then kicked him the chest, and sent him across the room... he hit the ground... I saw him... I saw him trying to get up... but he couldn't... The Firaga attack had done enough damage to keep him from fighting... but it continued attacking him..."

Unei was studying the unconscious blonde, who was sporting a nasty looking bruise on his forehead. If it wasn't for the bruise, one would think that he was merely asleep. The expression on his face was a peaceful and calm one, his breathing slow and even. Flickering eyelids suggested that he was dreaming.

Unei closed her eyes for a few seconds, trying to use her sway over the dream world to see whereabouts Ingus was, and whether or not she was able to reach out to him and communicate with his consciousness. As the Guardian if the World of Dreams she knew that something could hold a person captive in the dream world, trapping them in a deeply confusing and sometimes traumatic landscape of memories.

And after a while... the comatose patient would find themselves unable to separate reality from the memory... and eventually they would stray from the path of consciousness, eventually die.

"His consciousness is lost in the dream world..." she commented, narrowing her eyes in concern and contemplation. "There is something blocking me from speaking to Ingus... I can see him... but I cannot hear him... and he cannot hear me..." she paused. "...I cannot see anyone with him... but he is not alone... something, or someone is there with him..." she paused. "...he is stood on a beach... but it is not one I recognize..."

"Is Ingus in any danger?" Refia asked, concerned dancing through her eyes. In the waking world, her White Magic could heal all manner of injuries (accept bruising) that her team mates received. With Ingus trapped in the dream world, whilst he could not come to any physical harm – he could receive a deadly emotional or spiritual wound... and that was something that she couldn't heal...

Someone, or something, could attack him, whilst he was at his most vulnerable... taking advantage of the fact he was completely alone, separated from his friends and allies... and trapped somewhere he didn't remember.

"No..." Unei replied. "I can sense another aura... someone is there with Ingus... it is friendly... caring... it is gentle... it is protective... it means him no harm..."

"Then why won't they let you in, to speak to him?" Luneth asked.

"I do not know..." Unei admitted. "But... they mean him no harm... they may be giving him some information..." she paused. "But the aura means no harm... it is very similar to Ingus' own..."

"What can you sense from the foreign aura?" Doga asked from where he was busily flicking through a spell book, trying to find an enchantment that would help rouse the comatose blonde.

"...they are both quiet..." Unei replied. "They are both children of the Water Crystal..." she paused. "They both embody the saying that 'still water runs deep'. They both seem calm... but there is no sign of what lurks below those calm depths..." she paused. "But whilst Ingus is the ocean... calm one minute, stormy the next... the aura owes more to the spring... gentle and healing... with little malice in it..."

Refia grinned,

"That sounds like Ingus…" she nodded, "Outside of battle, he is calm and quiet... tends to sit and observe rather than join in." She paused. "We don't know much about him – beyond his name being Ingus, that he's sixteen and that he's in the Sasune Army. He's never talked about himself..."

Arc nodded.

"It's true..." He agreed. "He's told us nothing of his past in Sasune. We don't know whether or not he grew up there... or if he moved there when he became an squire..." he pause and grinned. "But when he's in battle... he can flip from calm and quiet to ruthless and unstoppable in a matter of seconds... much like the ocean."

Doga nodded.

"And I would expect nothing different from one of the King's Men." He commented, before looking at the other three questioningly. "Am I right, that he is officially Sir Ingus of Castle Sasune?"

Refia nodded.

"He is." She replied. "Not that he likes other people to know that fact... I actually think he's rather embarrassed that he's been Knighted when he's only sixteen. We only found out Ingus was Knighted because one of Princess Sara's Maidens in Waiting addressed him as 'Sir Ingus' when asking him to speak to Princess Sara before he left Sasune because she was upset..." She grinned. "But yes, he is Sir Ingus of the Sasusian Royal Army, one of the King's most trusted men, and..."

There was a low moan from the bed, and everyone in the room turned to look at the figure lying there. Lithely muscled limbs were shifting weakly from underneath the thick crimson blankets and long golden eyelashes were fluttering against alabaster cheeks

"Come on blondie, time to wake up." Unei commented cheerfully. "Come on, you've been asleep long enough..."

Ingus' sapphire eyes suddenly shot open and he jerked into a sitting position, looking around, eyes wide with a mixture of fight and flight.

"Hold your Chocobos blondie..." Unei told him, gently pushing him back down onto the soft mattress. "You're safe... you're at the Mansion..."

Ingus turned his sapphire gaze to her dark brown, blinking in confusion before he took another look around the darkened room, taking in the familiar faces.

"What in Hades name happened?" he asked, surprised at how croaky and weak his voice sounded.

"You took a nasty blow to the head Ingus, don't you remember?." Refia responded with a gentle smile. "From that strange demon in the abandoned Manor house just north of Duster."

"You've been unconscious for five days..." Arc added. "I'm glad you've regained consciousness... we've been worried..."

"...I don't remember the Manor... or why we went in there..." Ingus replied, answering Refia's question honestly. "But... I do remember the demon..." he looked thoughtful, narrowing his eyes as he concentrated. "It was a fire element... I remember a Firaga attack..."

"That was the attack it landed on you directly before the blow to the head." Arc explained gently.

"I don't think we should be talking about such subjects at the moment." Doga commented, closing his spell book. "Ingus would probably like to take a bath and have something to eat...and then a sleep." He turned his gaze to the other three. "And you three have business of the Floating Continent. Cid, Topapa and Tanaka have sent you missives asking favours – and I suggest you take Nautilus and see to those favours. Unei and I need more time recreating the Eureka Key, and Ingus needs time to recuperate."

Luneth, Arc and Refia all nodded and offered Ingus a smile.

"Glad you woke up." Luneth commented. "I was worried..." he paused. "And if you get bored and want something to occupy your time, there is stuff for you to try and identify in the front of your rucksack – along with that notebook of yours."

"Out, out!" Unei replied for Ingus, ushering the threesome out of the room.

Doga waved his hand vaguely.

"There is a bath and a clean set of clothes waiting for you in the next room." He told the blonde. "Go and enjoy, the Moogles will bring you something to eat once you've finished..."

"Thank you." Ingus replied.

Doga offered the blonde a warm smile.

"It is no trouble." He replied. "I am glad that you have finally awoken. I was very worried about you." And with those words, he left the room, closing the door softly behind him.

As soon as Doga was gone, Ingus gathered his strength and sat up again, swinging his legs onto the floor. He stood up slowly and carefully, wincing slightly as the room swam slightly.

Once he had re-established his equilibrium he stepped forward, slowly padding towards the bathroom.


	5. Chapter 5

A week had passed, and Doga had deemed Ingus well enough to get out of bed and move around further than the quick walk to the en-suite bathroom. The bruises to his head was beginning to fade, and he was able to walk for longer periods of time without feeling dizzy. The bruising on his ribs was also beginning to heal, and he was able to breathe with less pain and discomfort.

With Doga and Unei still debating how to create the Eureka Key, the other three Warriors of the Light were taking the lull in necessary tasks and missions to take some down time and visit their families. Luneth had piloted the Invincible back up to the Floating Continent, sending a missive to Sara from Ingus via the Mognet.

Although Doga had deemed him fit to get up and move around, he hadn't been cleared for travel by airship – especially through the magical winds and up to the altitude the Floating Continent sat at. Still beset with periods of dizziness, Ingus could only agree that it was a wise idea not to travel and had accepted the wizard's invitation to remain in his Mansion for a few days.

Besides, it wasn't like he had a family to visit. Unlike Luneth and Arc who had been adopted by Ur's village Elder Topapa and his wife Nina, and Refia who had been adopted by Tanaka, Kazus' Blacksmith... he had never been truly adopted...

Not by the travelling circus who had taken him in first after he had run away from Cid... they had only seen him as a youngster they could train to walk the High Wire and fly the Trapeze (both of which he could do) or Sir Bonteparte (now General Bonteparte) who had taken him under the wing after seeing him display considerable talents in stealth (sneaking up on a teenaged clown, knocking them on the head, and leaping onto the ladder to get up to the trapeze), agility (walking the high wire and running on the wheel of death), fearlessness (all the aerial performances) and aim (he'd been trained to throw knives and swords).

Although he had never seen it, or been told it, he knew that gold had changed hands when it came to his staying in Sasune Castle...

The closest he could get to it were his old barracks mates who envied him for being knighted. Several of the ring leaders had been in the army for decades, and as they were of Noble blood they were jealous and angry that he – the young orphan had received a Knighthood before them...

As for the other Knights, they all viewed him as a young upstart, who had risen far beyond the station then his blood should have allowed him. Many of the Knights had sons... who had been vying for the Knighthood he had received... So it wasn't like he had many friends to visit in Sasune Castle either...

Not that he'd tell anybody any of that information. He could only imagine the jokes he'd get from Luneth and Unei if they discovered he had spent the first eight years of his life as a circus child... and had been sold to Castle Sasune just because he had skills one of the Knights wanted to cultivate.

In any case, he also knew that the second Princess Sara saw him, and the colourful bruise he was currently sporting on his forehead, he knew she'd have him locked up in Castle Sasune's Healing Wing for as long as she could argue that he needed to be there.

Although he liked to think himself up for and equal any challenge, he knew from experience that escaping the Healing Wing was a pretty much impossible feat.

Besides, he wanted a chance to use Doga's extensive library so he could do some of his own research on Maiden Sari and find out who, or what she/it was.

Knowing that he was capable of keeping himself entertained, and trusting that he would lie down when he knew he needed to, Doga and Unei had left him to his own devices. Ingus had taken the time to do some research in the library.

Which was where was currently was, sat at one of the tables in the corner, with a variety of books spread out in front of him – one of which had the two crystals Luneth had found sat on top.

The first book was an encyclopaedia, in which he had found a very brief mention of Maiden Sari in a section that spoke of extreme weather. It briefly mentioned that Maiden Sari had been struck by a horrific hurricane that had left the area devastated and completely deserted.

This had allowed him to know that Maiden Sari was a place, and not a person, which had allowed him to turn his search to atlases and maps. Currently he had three lying open in front of him, one dating back to the beginning of known records, the second written by the Warriors of Darkness, and the third dating back to a year before the Cloud of Darkness had covered part of Gaia.

But he couldn't find Maiden Sari plotted anywhere on any of the maps... on any of the continents.

"Alright..." he muttered to himself. "Melody Lightya told me to travel to Maiden Sari... but I can't find it on any of the maps..." he paused, drumming his fingers on the desk. "I know it exists... or at least it used to... because of what is written in the Encyclopaedia... and it was written by Noah... so Maiden Sari must have existed... before the hurricane struck..." he paused. "Mind you... Maiden Sari may have been far too small and insignificant to be mentioned... but saying that... Noah felt it important to mention it... so... he must have thought it important..." he paused. "But if it were... he would have given more information..." he paused, and ideally flicked through the book again. "Hang on! Some pages have been ripped out! But who would..." he narrowed his eyes. "...I'll bet my bottom gil that it was Xande..."

He fought the urge to bang his head on the desk in exasperation, and instead yawned and turned his attention to the book of blank parchment he had found the Invincible. He had taken it, along with a box of coloured oil based crayons, from the legendary airship before the others had left. With another yawn, he racked his memory to what the fiery demon they had been fighting looked like. Once an image was fixed in his memory, he picked up a charcoal pencil and started drawing.

Drawing was something he tended to do whenever something caught his interest, be it scenery, people, or even a description he had read in a book. Mostly it was something he did in the evenings whilst on scouting trips in the forests that surrounded Sasune. He often holed himself in the branches of a tree, and simply drew what he could see.

Very few people knew he enjoyed drawing. Inside the barracks any talent, outside being a good fighter or having a long list of sexual conquests to your name and therefore numerous notches on your bedpost, was met with very little interest. In the South West tower... art was viewed as a 'low brow' skill...

Art, a talent that was deemed 'girly' would be met with nothing but laughter and mocking. Already subjected to a lot of, not so good natured teasing, on account of being blonde, blue eyed and having a naturally lithe and lean build, Ingus had long ago decided not to do anything to make himself a bigger talent then he already was.

No he'd keep his talent for art to himself...


	6. Chapter 6

"Multi-skilled Blondie" Unei began, knowing it exasperated the blonde haired Monk cum Red Mage cum Dark Knight cum Dragoon cum Black Belt cum Ninja. "Do you want a drink of..." she trailed off when she realized the blonde haired warrior was asleep.

She silently stepped across the room, a smile dancing on her elderly features. She knew that she was now probably amongst the few people who had ever seen Ingus asleep with all of his icy barriers down. With those barriers down, he looked so much younger, and so much closer to his actual age of sixteen.

He looks so much more vulnerable, which surprised Unei. When he was awake Ingus had always been the well educated, highly intelligent, highly disciplined, observant, aloof Warrior of the Light. Most of the people assumed that he was at least twenty or twenty one.

But asleep, he looked – dare she even think it, angelic – as if he had never once contemplated holding a blade in his life, let alone having ever wielded one on the battle field. He didn't look like he had been training for the army since his tenth birthday... or had ever ridden out to war...

... or had even flown the trapeze, walked fearlessly along the High Wire or ran and tumbled on the wheel of Death from the age of four...

Ah yes, she knew of that part of Ingus' history... she knew he had spent his formative years after the airship crash on the trapeze... she had stumbled into that memory when trying to find Ingus his unconsciousness...

She looked at the table, taking in the atlases and the open encyclopaedia – opened to a page where there were pages missing. Scribbled down on a piece of parchment next to it, was some notes on the a hurricane that struck a place called Maiden Sari.

She thought nothing of it, Noah had never mentioned Maiden Sari to them, beyond that it had been struck by a hurricane. She figured that maybe Ingus had been idly searching through Noah's encyclopaedia, found mention of Maiden Sari and had started to search for information on it.

She was about to prod him, to wake him up and suggest that if he was feeling tired, that he should go back to his room go to bed for a few hours.

As she approached him to prod him, she paused as her sharp eyes fell on a closed parchment book. Carefully she picked it up, so not to disturb Ingus, and flipped it open wondering what was in it. Her eyes widened when they fell on the first page. It was one of the most incredible drawings she had ever seen in her life. Highly detailed, it was of Infrit – God of Fire. Not the form that Evokers and magically trained Summoners called, but the actual Infrit – the one who only heeded the calls of the True Summoners. Those born in Maiden Sari, those that had a true Summoner's horn.

Looking at the drawing of Infrit, Unei found herself wondering about the fiery demon that had attacked the group, leaving Ingus in the coma. She found herself wondering whether the God of Fire, had been waiting in that cave, and had deliberately attacked Ingus, forcing him into a coma and leaving him trapped in the dream world, so that whoever had contacted him had had the chance to speak to him. Maybe one of the Gods wanted to contact the Warriors of the Light... and had bid Ifrit to leave one of the unconscious, and therefore reachable through his unconsciousness.

"You are full of surprises Blondie..." Unei muttered. "...I'd have never pegged you as being the artistic one in the group..."

She flipped the page over, wondering if there were any more drawings – and she came across a drawing of a small cove, with the ocean gently lapping against the white sand. The entrance to the cove was covered in intertwined vines and seaweed and colourful shells dotted the beach.

She flipped to a third page, and her eyes widened as her blood turned could. It was of a stormy sky, black clouds with lightning rumbling reddish orange above them, the clouds becoming darker until they reached the lids of a single, large fire red eye which stared up at her as if it could see her, and was studying her very soul.

Had he seen that whilst he was unconscious? Whilst he was unconscious had he seen that evil eye staring down at him, judging him, studying his very soul... was it that demon eye that had left him looking so frightened... so uncertain to fight or take flight when he had finally jerked awake?

Unei closed the sketchpad with a shudder, and put it back where she had found it, once again debating with herself whether or not to wake Ingus up.

She decided against it, he was fast asleep and his dreams were peaceful. His silvery white-blonde locks were falling around his face. He was comfortable, and there was no pressing reason to wake him up. He was resting his head against his folded arms, not leaning at any awkward angle, nor was he putting any pressure on his bruised ribs or still spectacularly bruised forehead. She decided to leave him as he was.

Besides this was something she could tease him about later.

"Sleep well Blonde..." she told him, before silently walking out of the library.


	7. Chapter 7

"So where is Ingus?" Princess Sara asked, looking around as if the blonde haired Knight was hiding somewhere. It was clear that she was excited about seeing him, as she was practically bouncing. Her father, and the unnamed middle aged man were smiling at her excitement, but he as well was clearly looking forward to seeing the blonde, and was clearly wondering where he was.

"He…" Arc began. "We got into a fight two weeks ago, and he was the target of the brunt of the attacks, and was pretty knocked around." He paused. "He he was deemed unfit to travel, and Unei and Doga thought it would be best if he didn't." he paused again, seeing that Sara and her father looked worried. "He'll be fine. Refia's white magic healed the worst of the damage, and all that remains now is the bruised ribs and the bruise on the head. He's still finding it a little painful breathing, and the remainder of the head injury is still making him tire easily, and if he moves around to much, he gets dizzy." He smiled. "No memory loss though, he's still completely on the ball, as always…"

"And still about three steps ahead of everyone else." Refia added.

Luneth nodded.

"Doga and Unei probably have him buried in books, trying to find a way to get into Eureka and into the inner parts of the Crystal Tower." He grinned. "Better him then me."

Refia crossed her arms.

"Well at least he knows how to make himself useful, unlike you." she replied, poking the silver haired teenager in the ribs. "And at least he knows the benefits of looking before he leaps, and that checking supplies is a wise idea before running off into some unexplored, unmapped cave."

"Yes." Luneth replied. "Looking before he leaps worked out well against that demon." He shook his head, his silver grey locks falling about his face. "Nine broken ribs, a punctured lung, a cracked skull, and eleven days in a coma. Yes, looking before he leaps worked out great for him that time.

Sara let out a gasp, eyes widening at what she had just heard, her hands flying to her mouth in shock. Her father, King Sasune, looked just as shocked, as did the middle aged man who was standing next to him.

"Nice one." Arc commented, rolling his eyes. "Ingus was right. You have as much subtlety as a Muu with its tail on fire. Ingus told us, that if we did decide to travel to Castle Sasune, that we were to keep information to his injuries, as brief as possible. All we were meant to say, was that he got slightly knocked around, and wasn't fit to travel under the observation that bruised ribs, not being able to breath properly and high altitude doesn't really sound like a good mix."

Luneth shrugged.

"I see no point in lying." He replied. "Not to royalty."

"Oh but its not lying." Refia replied. "Ingus was completely correct, its called the 'selective truth'. As he said, you say what needs to be said, and omit anything that is unneeded. By doing so, you loose anything that could be used against you at a later date, and you avoid needlessly worrying people."

The middle aged man let out a laugh on hearing this, his brown eyes dancing with amusement. Everyone turned to look at him questioningly.

"Ingus has always gone by the selective truth." He explained. "That if something isn't needed, you just omit it. We got rid of the Chimera infestation, so therefore there is no point mentioning that steps taken to doing so, and the fact that the two of us almost had our arms bitten off… and Ingus almost got eaten." he grinned. "Straight, and to the point. 'The threat has been neutralized – I'm going for a bath.'"

Princess Sara crossed her arms.

"I want to see him!" she stated. "I wanted to make sure that he's alright! He' was in a coma for five days..." she paused, looking very upset. "He could have died! I could have lost him." She broke off, realizing what she had just unintentionally admitted to everyone there. Seeing that none of them looked particularly surprised, she narrowed her greyish blue eyes and looked Luneth dead in the eyes. "I want to see him!"

"Milady." Refia began. "I promise you, Ingus is fine." She paused. "He woke up with a bit of a headache, and he's still finding it slightly difficult to breath, but when we left, he was on his feet again, and although he wasn't back to full strength, he was back to his normal cynical and sarcastic self, the annoyed death glare and all." She grinned, looking at Luneth. "I love that look he gives you..." she paused. "One look, you know you're being a moron, and you stop."

"Well... he is the big brother of the group..." Arc replied. "Even if he's only eighteen days older then you, Luneth... an even that, I suppose could be wrong... as none of us know exactly how old we are... Ingus could easily be the baby..."

"I would say he's been born middle aged... but I know too many stories that have a difference of opinion..."

Princess Sara shook her head.

"I still want to see him!" She replied. "I might be able to assist with research… or with details on the Quest…" She paused. "I've been studying white magic further… I've been training in the ways of a Healer… I could help with that!"

"Sara…" King Sasune replied. It was clear that he was perfectly aware of the fact that his daughter had feelings for the blonde haired Knight, and that, if all things went smoothly in the battle against the Cloud of Darkness, Ingus would probably become, some time in the distant future, the next King of Sasune.

Father! Please let me go!" Sara begged. "I want to make sure he's alright! I want to help with the Quest! I want to help save the world!"

King Sasune let out a deep sigh.

"I cannot risk loosing you Sara." He replied. "You are the only heir to this Kingdom." He paused. "I am certain that Ingus will be fine. "

I'm certain he is." The middle aged man agreed. "Ingus is as stubborn as a dragon, and he has a hard head to boot. It takes more than a whack to the head to kill him off." He paused and grinned. "For starters, Ingus is too damn stubborn to let it kill him off, and secondly – he'd take it as a personal insult if he was killed off by a whack on the head."

"Well..." Arc replied. "He's not the Light of Determination for nothing."

"He is." Refia confirmed. "He only looks a little knocked around now. He was perfectly happy about staying behind to help Doga and Unei out, although he was sad that he couldn't come and see you all. He didn't say it, but he is missing Sasune, and everyone he knows here." She giggled. "Probably because things here are so much more ordered here, then it is with us – at least here he can make an educated guess to what is going to happen on a day to day basis." She shook her head, her brown eyes. "And as he once put it. 'at least in Sasune most people have a shred intelligence that allows them to realize that poking a sleeping Behemoth in the eye, is – his words, not mine, 'a damn stupid thing to do, if it was anyone else I would probably say they deserved to die.'"

Luneth shrugged.

"It was sleeping in front of a treasure chest." He replied. "I wanted to see what was in it."

Arc rolled his eyes.

"Yes, but you didn't need to wake the Behemoth up to do so. Ingus quite rightly pointed out, take the pre-emptive strike, attack it from behind, not from the front." He grinned. "Although I did like his 'if it was anyone else I would probably say they deserved to die' comment. It summed up his thoughts on you perfectly Luneth…"

Luneth scowled.

"Just because, at first we didn't get alone, doesn't mean he still believes that." He replied. "I admitted I was stupid! He followed me in, slit the beast's throat, and dragged my ass out of trouble. Everyone was happy. I got into the treasure chest, and got what was in there." He grinned sheepishly. "It was a shame it was nothing but an antidote…"

"Yes." Refia drawled. "I know… none of us were impressed when we realized that. Least of all Ingus."

Luneth just grinned.


End file.
